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Last update - 09:02 12/08/2008 Just fire a rubber bullet at him? By Haaretz Editorial Tags: Palestinians, IDF, Israel  Last Thursday an indictment was served at the Military Court in Tel Aviv against Lt. Col. Omri Borberg and against the soldier under his command who at a range of less than half a meter, fired a rubber bullet at the legs of a shackled and blindfolded Palestinian. Borberg, the battalion commander, did report the shooting to the brigade commander, who reported it to the division commander, but until the video that was taped by a Palestinian girl from the window of her home came to light, it was not exposed publicly - no one thought it was a grave incident. Shooting a shackled and blindfolded person, who is clearly not endangering soldiers, and even shooting in order to frighten, or the threat to shoot in order to frighten, and not even directly at the person's body but only in immediate proximity to him, are all acts forbidden by law, whether military or civil, during times of both war and peace, in Israel or anywhere else where respect for human rights exists. Advertisement To ensure that the prohibition against shooting a shackled person will be clear and unambiguous, the chief of staff should have made an example of the shooting at Na'alin - even if the result of the shooting was only a slight injury to the Palestinian's foot. However, instead of a strong statement by the chief of staff, instead of the expulsion of the battalion commander from the Israel Defense Forces, a deal was cut whereby Lt. Col. Borberg would be removed from command of the battalion, transferred to another position and tried in the military court on the relatively light charge of "unworthy conduct." The explanations for this are varied. Some say that the prosecution would have found it difficult to convict the battalion commander of a more serious violation, because he did not give an explicit order to shoot. Others argue that it suffices that his promotion trajectory has been stopped - through no fault of his own - and there are those who say that a battalion commander in the armored corps should not have been engaged in dispersing demonstrators in the first place, and the compromise is intended to spare embarrassment from his more senior commanders and from the IDF as a whole. The picture emerging from the indictment as formulated is that the utter prohibition on shooting a shackled individual has not been instilled and has not been internalized. The soldier did not view an order to shoot, if he received one, as a blatantly illegal order. The commander did not understand the illegality in the threat to shoot a person in shackles. The battalion commander said - according to the indictment - in order to frighten the Palestinian: "What do you say? Shall we take him aside and shoot him?" and the soldier replied: "I have no problem shooting rubber [bullets] at him." The commander said: "Insert a bullet," and the soldier said, "I have one in the barrel," and fired. Only after the soldier had fired did his commander clarify to him that "one doesn't shoot a person who is tied up." The decision to try the two on a relatively minor charge sends a message to soldiers that the IDF is prepared to close its eyes, at least partially, and is not outraged, as might be expected, at the shooting of a shackled person. Transferring Lt. Col. Borberg to another position in the army is a wink to soldiers that hints that perhaps in the future, when the tempest blows over, the officer will find his place in the command chain anew. The opportunity to send a message of total intolerance of shooting a person in shackles has been missed. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Safe haven reached 200 fleeing Georgia after the outbreak of hostilities arrive at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport. Fatal heartbreak Disabled man dies of heart attack after his girlfriend was arrested by Immigration Police.   1.   The rotting chain of command 09:25  |  sh 12/08/08   2.   The problem is not rubber bullets, but desensitization 09:44  |  Tzfonit 12/08/08   3.   Shall we condemn the entire IDF of being prone of such acts? 10:09  |  S 12/08/08   4.   Tzfonit, S 11:32  |  sh 12/08/08   5.   thank you nr 2 11:40  |  rebecka 12/08/08   6.   sh - There will be more incidents unless 11:54  |  Tzfonit 12/08/08   7.   It is a Mitzva to eliminate as many enemy as possible 11:55  |  Yael 12/08/08   8.   This editorial brings back memories..... 12:22  |  Miriam Ashkelon 12/08/08   9.   #3, S 12:38  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 12/08/08   10.   Tzfonit, there have been many such incidents 12:52  |  sh 12/08/08   11.   #7 Yael is exactly the subject of my post #3! 13:08  |  S 12/08/08   12.   The most moral army in the world? 13:14  |  Natallie Durson 12/08/08   13.   No one thought it was a grave incident 13:26  |  Labhras 12/08/08   14.   Cipora #9 Sorry! I very much disagree with you. 13:33  |  S 12/08/08   15.   c j k 9 13:33  |  potobac 12/08/08   16.   Is this really just a little incident? 13:50  |  Christian Lebanese 12/08/08   17.   The IDF is a semi criminal organisation 13:58  |  Nick Ferriman 12/08/08   18.   CJK 14:04  |  sh 12/08/08   19.   Sh: the ramifications 14:11  |  Tzfonit 12/08/08   20.   #8 Miriam Ashkelon 16:00  |  Boycott 12/08/08   21.   Savta Miriam 16:25  |  sh 12/08/08   22.   #2 Tzfonit goes to the heart of the matter 16:30  |  Ben Alofs 12/08/08   23.   The problem is not rubber bullet..... 16:36  |  Elias 12/08/08   24.   Cipora is part of the problem. 16:56  |  Ibrahim 12/08/08   25.   It doesn`t make sense 17:21  |  Irishman 12/08/08   26.   that`s it? 17:26  |  curious george 12/08/08   27.   Curious George 18:39  |  Jasmine Murphy 12/08/08   28.   # 9 , cipora; Thanks for the comfirmation 18:45  |  Gray 12/08/08   29.   Nice of all our critics to praise our left wingers 18:49  |  Jasmine Murphy 12/08/08   30.   Complete retraining is needed 18:50  |  David 12/08/08   31.   The most moral shooting 18:52  |  Obs 12/08/08   32.   It`s a lesson not to learn from our neighbors 18:54  |  x-ray 12/08/08   33.   Just goes to prove 19:20  |  Guy From NYC 12/08/08   34.   Thanks, Tzfonet, You`re right, Israel can do better 19:45  |  Gray 12/08/08   35.   Guy from NY City 19:52  |  Ari 12/08/08   36.   Boycott 20 20:00  |  ChanahS 12/08/08   37.   The soldier didn`t shoot the bullet in the leg, but in the toe 20:03  |  Terr 12/08/08   38.   #9 - You are welcome to that officer 20:18  |  K 12/08/08   39.   Nobody is Surprized. 20:19  |  S .A .D 12/08/08   40.   #2. Tzfonit. How right YOU ARE, 20:32  |  Adam 12/08/08   41.   To Yael in Rishon 21:03  |  Otto Rand 12/08/08   42.   Dear Savta Miriam 21:04  |  Otto Rand 12/08/08   43.   Dear Savta Miriam 21:05  |  Otto Rand 12/08/08   44.   Dear Savta Miriam 21:10  |  Otto Rand 12/08/08   45.   To Cipora Cohn 21:24  |  Otto Rand 12/08/08   46.   Sh, Tzfonit, S - Thank You 22:08  |  Mark of Lewiston 12/08/08   47.   minor incident exploited for public relations 22:19  |  Scharker Yid 12/08/08   48.   The problem is not rubber bullets, but desensitization 22:59  |  massimo 12/08/08   49.   I fully agree with Otto Rand`s Postings. 23:05  |  Wolf 12/08/08   50.   charles darwin 23:17  |  honey bunch 12/08/08   51.   For Otto Rand #44 23:20  |  Esther 12/08/08   52.   The soldier who fired the rubber bullet 23:21  |  Wolf 12/08/08   53.   Self flaggelation 23:28  |  Hilda 12/08/08   54.   Yes Natalie the most moral army in the world 23:31  |  Hilda 12/08/08   55.   Re Wolf #52 23:51  |  Esther 12/08/08   56.   #14, S 00:00  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 13/08/08   57.   Casualties Enough For All 00:07  |  Gray 13/08/08   58.   This is ridiculous and overblown 00:08  |  H50 13/08/08   59.   Otto Rand 00:10  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 13/08/08   60.   wrong. useless opinion piece. 00:23  |  ralph 13/08/08   61.   #53 Hilda 00:38  |  Boycott 13/08/08   62.   # 8 miriam 00:44  |  Axel 13/08/08   63.   Cipora; News around the world... 02:27  |  Gray 13/08/08   64.   Lying to Investigators 02:47  |  Mark of Lewiston 13/08/08   65.   THE BOTTOM LINE... 03: